You'll start repaying your VET Student Loan through the tax system once your income exceeds a certain threshold. This threshold is set by the government. Once you earn more than this, a part of your income will go towards repaying your loan. For the 2025-2026 financial year, this threshold is $67,000.
FEE-HELP, on the other hand, can be offered to eligible students who study courses where the tuition fees are set by approved providers. VET Student Loans are only available to eligible students pursuing approved higher-level Vocational Education and Training programs.
The USDA VMLRP helps qualified veterinarians repay educational loans in exchange for service in designated veterinary shortage areas. Authorized by the National Veterinary Medical Services Act (NVMSA), this program is designed to support public and food animal health across underserved regions in the U.S.
How is a HELP debt repaid?
HELP and VET Student Loans provide interest-free loans, but the outstanding amount is indexed annually by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). All HELP and VET Student Loans debts are managed by the Australian Taxation Office.
Need pet care, but can't afford the vet bills? With a loan from VetCare Finance, your pet can receive urgent veterinary care. With our fast, simple application process, we'll ensure your loan is approved in no time so you can go back to looking after your pet.
You'll automatically begin to repay your debt through the tax system once you earn more than a certain repayment threshold. If you don't earn above the threshold, you won't have to make repayments on your debt. You can make a voluntary FEE-help repayment at any time.
(View the full list of current rates). Sticking with the example of a $70,000 gross salary, without salary packaging, you're expected to repay 15c for each $1 over $67,000 toward your HECS/HELP debt. That works out to an annual repayment figure of $450.
If you had an outstanding HELP or other student loan debt balance as at 1 June 2025, the ATO is now applying the 20% reductions. The 20% reduction is applied to your study loan balance as at 1 June 2025, before indexation was applied. The 2025 indexation will be re-calculated on the reduced loan amount.
Options include refinancing, reducing insurance costs, and more.
This process of paying off your loan over time is called amortization. Using the formula above, for a $50,000 student loan with a 10-year repayment at 5% interest, you can expect to make monthly payments of around $530 per month.
You'll need to apply directly to your approved course provider. Your course provider can help you prepare what you need to apply for the loan. You can ask your course provider if they are approved to provide VET Student Loans.
VET FEE-HELP (VFH) Student Redress Measures (now closed)
From 1 January 2019, VFH Student Redress Measures came into effect to provide a remedy to students who, due to the inappropriate conduct of the VET provider, incurred debts under the VFH Scheme. Student Redress closed after five years on 31 December 2023.
Safe Pets Safe Families – Vet Crisis program have partner Vet clinics and put people on a Centrepay payment to pay off their vet bill. Great Western Animal Hospital – Pendle Hill – offers treatment assistance via VetPay or Zippay.
If you are eligible, FEE-HELP can cover all or part of your tuition fees, to a maximum amount - the HELP loan limit, over your lifetime. The HELP loan limit is indexed annually. In 2025, the limit is $126,839, and it will increase to $129,883 in 2026.
The seven-year timeline comes from the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which limits how long credit bureaus can report most types of negative information. After seven years from the date you first fell behind, things like collections, charge-offs and late payments will typically fall off your credit report.
Can Aboriginal people get lower interest rates on home loans? Yes, many Indigenous-specific loans, including those from Indigenous Business Australia, offer lower loan interest rates. These reduced rates can help make monthly repayments more affordable for Indigenous Australians.
You might not have to pay an old unsecured debt if it has been more than 6 years (or 3 years in the Northern Territory) since you last made a payment or acknowledged the debt in writing. This is called a statute barred debt.
If you choose to make a voluntary contribution towards your HECS-HELP debt through salary sacrificing, you can repay an amount without paying tax on it as earnings, but you may still have to pay FBT. Salary sacrificing does have benefits, but how much it will help you depends on your income and your debt level.
How to avoid paying higher-rate tax
While negative information about your student loans may disappear from your credit reports after seven years, the student loans will remain on your credit reports — and in your life — until you pay them off. You will need to rehabilitate, consolidate or refinance your loan and agree to a repayment plan.
A significant element of the ruling is the so-called Regulation F "7-in-7" rule which states that a creditor must not contact the person who owes them money more than seven times within a seven-day period.
You'll start repaying your VET Student Loan through the tax system once your income exceeds a certain threshold. This threshold is set by the government. Once you earn more than this, a part of your income will go towards repaying your loan. For the 2025-2026 financial year, this threshold is $67,000.